These Broken Stars (Starbound) Hardcover – December 10, 2013

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan SpoonerEdition reviewed: Hyperion, First Edition hardcoverNo major plot spoilers.Why I picked it up:I was browsing books on Amazon one day, and was looking for a science fiction romance. Why? Because of the (small) hole left in me by "For Darkness Shows the Stars" by Diana Peterfreund. I heartily give it a solid 4 star review, because it had everything I was looking for at that point in time: no paranormal elements/creatures (taking a break from fantasy), an original plot, and strong, likeable characters. It hit all of the aforementioned elements, BUT it was lacking a bit in chemistry – and the two leads did not ever share a kiss.Thus, These Broken Stars. It promised romance, as well as everything else that For Darkness Shows the Stars delivered, so I dived in.The Writing:Rather than describing the general summary of the novel, I’m going to assume that most of you have read the provided description.First of all, I was blown away by the fluidity in this book despite the fact that it was written by two authors! Had I not known, I would never have guessed it because the writing flows so beautifully. Kaufman and Spooner have forged an amazing partnership in the creation of this novel, and I am so glad that they found each other as writing partners.Lilac and Tarver were both stunningly well developed characters. Throughout the book, I liked Tarver’s personality, through both his perspective, and Lilac’s perception of him. On the other hand, I grew to like Lilac over time. I definitely liked her at first – but it was only during her chapters that I found her to be sympathetic. I disliked her everytime it shifted to Tarver’s chapters, because she seemed like an absolute brat. This remedied itself as the plot unfolded, as it revealed Lilac’s fragility in the face of her outwardly strong persona. Basically, I felt like I liked her more and more as Tarver began to like her – which really demonstrates the authors’ talent, that I was sharing these emotions with the characters.Plot wise, I didn’t choose this book for originality. It was more or less a replacement for For Darkness Shows the Stars, which was based on Persuasion by Jane Austen, so I didn’t care that this book seemed like it was a sci-fi version of Titanic. However, I was happy to discover that although the initial premise of this novel sounded cliché, the plot started spinning a much more interesting and original storyline than I had anticipated. I was thrilled by every turn of events, and did not find this book to be predictable in the least. Even at the end (more on this later in the review), I didn’t know what was going to happen to the protagonists, so I was kept at the edge of my seat the whole time. I haven’t read such a thrilling, absorbing novel in Young Adult fiction in a long time. I didn’t set out to read such a gem, but I found one in These Broken Stars.The Romance:This is where this book really shines. This is doubly true for me, since I picked this one in large part for the promised romance. The relationship between Tarver and Lilac developed at the perfect pace, and did not seem manufactured or forced. It was both believable and sweet. Yes, they feel an immediate attraction at the beginning of the novel while on the Icarus, but this turns out to have little to no effect on the burgeoning romance once they crash onto the unknown planet. Tarver files her away as a beautiful, but typically spoiled and helpless heiress, and it almost seemed as if her appearances worked against her at first. But after being stripped to their innermost layers, removing all the superficial personas, Tarver and Lilac fell in love with the vulnerable and true personalities that they saw in each other.While this can be a pro or a con depending on the person, I loved that the heat was turned up a bit for this novel. There were definitely references to sex, nudity, and even the “problem” that Tarver woke up with after sharing blankets with Lilac. It’s a PG-13 level romance, but I loved the amped up heat after their relationship blossomed.Favorite line about their relationship: Tarver, in Chapter 31:“There are moments like this when I can actually imagine her at my parents’ cottage. I can see her hauling wood with the rest of us, chopping vegetables, going to long walks and calling it entertainment. I think my parents would like her.I can see her happy there.”The Ending:The ending, in my opinion, was pretty perfect. Loose ends were tied up, and although the ending was pretty brief, it did everything right. I loved that I couldn’t really predict the ending. Maybe I guessed what type of ending it was going to be, but I had no idea how Tarver and Lilac were going to reach that point. Basically, everything in the last few chapters was a surprise to me, and it was thrilling to figure out how things were going to be tied up. So even if you know the starting and ending point of a book, I think it’s the actual journey that’s the most fun to read. With another of my favorite books, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (a very different type of book), or The Road by Cormac McCarthy (also a very different book), the actual ending really mattered to me. With These Broken Stars, it was just so thrilling to read how they were going to get themselves out of a seemingly impossible situation.Final Thoughts:This book far exceeded my expectation in everyway. So much, that I added it to my favorites shelf, which I reserve for books that really leave an impact on me. It’s probably one of the best Young Adult reads of 2013, and I actually resent the fact that the School Library Journal book summary (the first one you see on Amazon) sounds so cliché.It starts by saying that “Lilac LaRoux is the belle of the ball,” despite how Lilac is first seen sitting away from other people, almost isolated despite her reputation. The next sentence says, “Beautiful Lilac is constantly denying suitors who seem only to be after two things, her fame and her father’s fortune,” which is even farther off the mark. The only “suitor” that comes up to her in the entire span of the book is Tarver, who doesn’t even know who she is at that point. The only other guy that is mentioned to have approached her romantically is a boy that Lilac herself loved, who was poorer than her, and bonded with her over things like electric wiring. So why does the summary begin with those statements? I turned away from the book at first, having only read that description, and only came back to it after reading other reviews that insisted that this book was original.Don’t think that this book is just a rehashed Titanic or Romeo and Juliet! It’s so much more, and I believe that any Young Adult romance lover will find this book just as intense and enthralling as I did. It really is a splendid read.The only thing I still want to know: Who is Sarah? When Lilac hears Tarver call her Sarah, I wanted to find out if she was right in her assumption that it was Tarver’s ex-girlfriend. Maybe this was cleared up somewhere in the book, but if it was, I missed it. I combed the chapters before and after that scene, and I couldn’t find any clarification. I know it’s not really relevant at all, but it’s my tiny nit-pick for this book.But anyway, read this book! It will blow you away, and you will fall in love with Lilac and Tarver because of their hardships, not in spite of them. You’ll fall in love with their fragile-on-the-outside but inwardly unbreakable bond.You’ll fall in love with the amazing world and expertly spun storyline that makes These Broken Stars such a thrilling ride.

Lilac LaRoux is accustomed to living a life of wealth. Her father owns the largest company in the galaxy and she hides deep pain behind the mask of an heiress. Major Tarver Merendsen finds himself on the Icarus’ maiden voyage after his heroic actions lurch him into the spotlight. Tarver and Lilac couldn’t be more different and they’re thrown together as the Icarus plummets from the sky, leaving them as the sole survivors of the crash. As much as the two can’t get along, they have to figure out a way to work together to survive on this strange planet.I have been wanting to read this book for quite awhile. The cover is stunning and I will guiltily admit that it first drew me to want this book. Then, I read the synopsis and it sounded like just my kind of book. I will admit, it was way less space opera than it was made to sound, but I didn’t mind. The romance is really the focus of this book, but I did expect as much from the synopsis.Something I really loved about this book is learning the main characters’ back stories. The authors did an amazing job of slowly revealing bits and pieces of Lilac and Tarver that I felt intrigued the whole time. There is so much pain and uniqueness to both these characters that they became so much more real.Lilac is tough, but not in the way so many female leads are these days. She has so much inner strength. She’s smart, which she hides well, and determined. At the same time, she grew up in the upper crust of society, so she struggles when she’s deserted with Tarver on an unknown planet. She falls apart and puts herself back together so many times throughout this book. She may not be the strongest physically, but she has so many qualities I admire. It’s refreshing to read a strong female lead that isn’t the typical amazing-at-everything girl.Tarver is also a great character to read. I was so fascinated by his story, especially his mom and his poetry. He wasn’t just the heroic soldier, but he also had a soft side. I really wish the authors would’ve included more of his poetry into this book. At times it was so easy to forget he wrote because we never got to see any of it.I also really enjoys all the snippets between the chapters. It was so fun to guess what was going one throughout them and I loved seeing them build into something great. They flowed so nicely with each chapter and it was great that they eventually connected closely with the story.I really loved this book until about 75% percent through it. I won’t spoil it, but some things happen that really upset me. At that point until the end, it just felt like a big scramble and it didn’t feel natural to me. I kept expecting the twist to turn into another twist, but that never came and I was pretty disappointed.The ending to this book was great, even with the stuff happening that bothered me. Each novel in this series focuses on a different cast, so each book has a pretty clear ending with no cliff hangers. Once I read this book, I just wanted more and I immediately pick up the next book.I just finished the whole series in just few days and I definitely think each book is better than the one before it.